THE THRESHOLD

In the winter semester 2026/27, the seminar will explore the concept and experience of the threshold from different perspectives.

The English word threshold has its origins in a concrete physical act. It derives from the Old English þrescan, meaning “to tread,” “to stamp,” or “to beat heavily,” and from wald, referring among other things to wood, timber, or a floor. Threshold originally described the floor or wooden beam at the entrance of a house, a surface that was physically stepped or stamped upon when entering. The history of the word therefore connects a bodily action with a spatial condition: the repeated act of stepping, working, and shaping a surface in order to make a path accessible.

This original physical act serves as one point of departure for the seminar. A threshold is not simply a boundary that is crossed, but can also be understood as a space of transition, movement, and transformation. It can be approached from different sides: from entering as well as from leaving. In the moment of crossing, different spaces, experiences, perspectives, and states encounter one another. A threshold can therefore become a place where different worlds connect, alternate, overlap, and enter into exchange. How do different cultures and languages understand and represent the moment of the threshold? Which rituals, traditions, and forms exist around entering and leaving a space, a situation, or a new phase of life? What does it mean today, personally and socially, to be on a threshold? And can this condition itself be understood as a distinct spatial state? The seminar will also consider questions of migration, transcultural and hybrid cultural experiences, as well as gender-diverse realities. How do identity, belonging, and perception change when moving between different social, cultural, or personal spaces? And how does living in a state of in-between-ness shape our individual and collective experiences? The seminar will begin with an exchange and analysis of different thoughts, experiences, and perspectives within the group. The threshold will not only be examined theoretically, but also explored as a physical, spatial, and social condition. The seminar is conceived as a collective process. Throughout the semester, artistic ideas will emerge from shared research, discussions, observations, and practical investigations. These will eventually be brought together into a conceptual artistic outcome, which may take the form of an installation, performance, intervention, or another artistic format. The entrance area and foyer of KHB will consciously serve as a spatial point of departure and source of inspiration. It is itself a threshold space: personal and private spheres encounter institutional and systemic structures; people arrive, leave, meet, move on, and shift between different roles and states. The space therefore becomes not only a site for presenting the final work, but also an integral part of the artistic investigation. The artistic form and development of the final project will remain open. It will be collectively discussed and decided upon during the semester. The final work may take the form of a collective project or of a constellation of individually developed contributions.

(Image credit: ARD Mediathek)